Fires and Espers
by BrownieFox
Summary: When a spirit is found haunting Vongola Mansion, the Ninth's lightning guardian uses it as an excuse to see his nephew, Reigen Arataka, again.
1. Chapter 1

"This… doesn't seem normal."

"No, no it does not."

Timoteo looked at the bloody writing on the walls. Ganache and Coyote were with him. There had been members of the staff reporting strange sounds coming from this part of the mansion - an older section, thick with dust and rarely used. Of course, Timoteo wouldn't usually bother with something that seemed so small; the Vongola Mansion was old, strange sounds were bound to come about. But then one of the maids had claimed to have seen a dead body, only for it to disappear when she got close, Timoteo decided to come over himself - and of course, he was accompanied by his guardians.

They didn't find a dead body, but they all agreed this seemed worse.

_For Every Soul Vongola Has Silenced_

_A Drop Of Blood Spilled_

_Until You Have Been Bled Dry._

"I'm no expert," Timoteo said, dabbing his finger on the red and bringing it to his face, experimentally sniffing it. Yes, definitely blood. "But I'd say this looks like a ghost or a haunting."

"Maybe that's just what he wants you to think." Coyote folded his arms, reading over the words again. They were in perfect Italian and didn't look like they had been painted on with a finger. Instead it was in more of a loopy, almost pretty calligraphy if it wasn't for what the letters said.

"I doubt anybody could've gotten in. Not impossible, of course, but I doubt it." Ganache said. It wasn't like this was the first time they'd come across spirits. There was, after all, the Vongola rings. And you definitely don't kill as many men as they had without one or two coming back with a vengeance. Still, there hadn't been any deaths over here - at least not as long as their generation had been around.

"Even if it is a spirit, it hasn't done anything to us yet. I can't be a terribly strong one." Coyote added.

"Just to be safe, I'll send for an esper immediately." Timoteo said, beginning to turn around. He had a meeting to attend soon.

"Wait, Tim," Ganache was still looking at the message, "Could I ask a favor of you?"

"What is it?" The Ninth asked.

"I know it's dangerous to leave a spirit lying around, but Coyote had a point; it hasn't done anything too bad yet." Ganache turned around and faced his two friends

"It clearly has a vendeta against us-" Timoteo started with a sigh.

"No, of course it needs to be exorcised," Ganache agreed, "But I haven't seen by nephew in years. He currently is running a business: Spirits and Such. I've never seen him use any esper abilities, but even if it he isn't one it'd be a nice excuse to get to see him again." Ganache mused.

"Family is important." Timoteo nodded. "Alright, send for your nephew. I'll admit, I've been curious to know how the kid's been getting along."

oOo

Reigen looked through his emails. Things had been slowly recently - not too slow that he was worried, but slow enough that he was constantly checking his email for what else may come. Things had been good recently. Perhaps there was something to the saying 'any publicity is good publicity', considering that despite how quickly things had gone downhill after his shameful display on tv and the incident at the press conference, Spirits and Such was doing well. A lot of people sent in email accusing him of faking the display at the press conference, and each one he vehemently denied. The crowds in front of his house and buildings, looking only to shame him, had now vanished and been replaced by actual customers

Bottom line, things were good.

"Master, there's a bird out here."

If the bird would just stop tapping on the window.

"I know Mob, just ignore it. It's been trying to get in all day." Reigen flapped his hand. The tapping continued and when Reigen looked over Mob was still standing at the windowsill, looking out at the bird.

"Master, it's holding a letter."

Now that caught Reigen's attention. He pushed himself away from his desk and walked over next to Mob. The bird was still there, tapping at the window, and it looked at Reigen with sharp and intelligent eyes that made the man recoil a bit. There was indeed a letter clutched in its beak, as well as a string of beads around its neck

"Mob, you'd tell me if you knew magic was real, right?" Reigen squinted at the bird. Mob nodded. "Can't you just, grab the letter with your telekinesis?"

Mob splayed his hand out, and the familiar sort of crystalline-indigo of his aura surrounded the letter. The bird let go of it and cawed insistently. Reigen opened the window a bit, but that was all the bird needed, quickly nudging the window open farther and slipping in, landing on the chair for client and still staring at Reigen. Reigen sighed and left the window open - it was a nice day, and there was no need to close it when Mob would need it open to put the bird back outside in a minute.

"Here." Mob floated the letter over to Reigen.

The man inspected it, admittedly a bit surprised and disappointed when the hogwarts seal wasn't on it. It took him a moment to place the seal that _was, _on it, because though it was familiar it had been a while since Reigen had last seen it. The two crossing shotguns, the clam at the stop, the bullet in a shield in the center, a ton of loops that had absolutely no meaning as far as Reigen could discern.

"Oh." Was the only word Reigen could formulate when he finally realized what it was. Mob looked at him questioningly or - or, well, as questioningly as Mob ever looked - but Reigen didn't offer a reply, simply breaking the seal and folding out the letter.

_Dear Arataka Reigen,_

_On the behalf of the Ninth Leader of the Vongola, your services have been requested. A spirit has made its presence known in the Vongola Mansion, and we desire nothing less than the best in his field to come and take care of this matter for us. We are to understand that you have the best esper of the century, and thus would like you to be the one to do so._

_On April 8th, at 12:00 pm there will be a private jet waiting for you in Seasoning Airport. You will be brought directly to the Vongola Mansion to deal with this threat. You may bring anyone or anything you feel you may need. Your stay here will last as long as it needs to._

_We are willing to pay for any sum that you require. _

_Sincerly,_

_Ganache III, Lightning Guardian of the Ninth Vongola_

_P.S. It's been too long since I've seen you! I can't wait to see how big you've gotten, Arataka!_

There was even a lightning flame, crackling gently, at the bottom of the note to authenticate it.

"Well," Reigen licked his lips, staring at the letter still, "It looks like we're going to Italy."


	2. Chapter 2

Reigen sorted through his clothes, putting them into a pile that would eventually go into his suitcase. He tossed in a couple of suits - his nicer ones, though he doubted they'd look all that good went put up against the ones his uncle and friends would be wearing.

Ganache used to absolutely dote on Reigen when he was younger. Ganache's only living family was his younger sister - Reigen's mom - and since the man had never gotten married, Reigen was as close as Ganache would ever get to having a son. Reigen had even spent a couple months at the Vongola Mansion. Of course, that was because somebody was threatening Ganache and they were worried the threat would decide to attack Reigen and his mom.

He wasn't entirely sure how long he was going to be in Italy, so it would be best to plan ahead. He'd made sure to tell Mob to do so too. And Ritsu, who had insisted on coming along as well while glaring at Reigen as he said so. Reigen had just shrugged and said sure, telling him to be ready in time to leave tomorrow morning.

He rooted through his drawers, checking for anything else he needed, and found a small dark brown box that he'd almost forgotten he had. He pulled it out and sat down on his bed with a thump, opening it with a flick of his wrist.

The ring sitting in the deep indigo velvet was just as shiny and perfect as they day he first got it. He carefully pulled it out, turning it around and admiring it like he hadn't done in years. The gem in the center was green, a lightning bolt carved very carefully and deliberately into the middle. The silver band it sat on had, in a curly and dramatic font, the name Vongola written across it. He slipped it onto one of his fingers, feeling the cool metal. He clenched his hand into a loose fist, ring facing him, and let out a breath.

He went through the motions that Ganache had walked him through all those years ago. Keep calm. Focus. Think about what you care about, what you would die for. Kindle the dying will within yourself first, and then push it out to your ring. It was something he'd hadn't done in a while, and it took Reigen a while to get into the right frame of mind. But, when he got there and he opened his eyes to see the sparking green flames resting on top of his ring, it was much bigger than it had been in his memories. He smiled proudly and dropped his concentration, allowing the flame to vanish.

Yeah, he was ready.

oOo

Reigen checked the heads of the kids following behind him as they walked up to the airport. Apparently one of Mob's friends - the esper with the blond hair he remembered from the whole Claw thing - has decided to come along too, saying something about not missing an opportunity to go to Italy. Reigen asked if he had permission from his parents, and Teruki had claimed he didn't need it. Which was fine by Reigen.

"The doors to the airport are this way." Ritsu said when it became obvious they weren't going towards them.

"Did you think I was joking when I said we were taking a private jet?" Reigen asked, walking towards the airfield.

"Yes." Ritsu replied without any hesitation. "It wouldn't be the first lie you've told."

"You hurt me, Ritsu!" Reigen put his hand to his chest in mock hurt. "But no, it really is a private jet. My uncle and his friends are really extra like that, and I'm not going to turn in down. Now c'mon, they're huge on punctuality."

12:00 pm was creeping up on them as they briskly walked to the closest landing spot. There were a couple men in black suits standing around the jet, and they watched the group approach while saying something into their ear pieces that couldn't be heard from the distance between them.

"What kind of client pays for a jet?" Teruki wondered aloud.

"My uncle's boss." Reigen said with a shrug of his shoulders and the. Lifting his hand as they got closer to the black suited men. "Yo, we're here for a lift!"

"We're going to need some proof of your identity." One if them said in heavily accented Japanese.

"Right, of course." Reigen flapped his hand and then pulled out his wallet, letting them examine it. They both passed it between then, scrutinizing it, before finally nodding.

"Arataka Reigen, I am Ernesto and this is Matthias. We will be acting as the pilots and bodyguards for you and you company during the duration of your time with the Ninth. You may leave your bags here, we'll load them for you. Please, climb aboard. We will be departing shortly." The shorter of the two men, Ernesto, said and nodded towards the jet.

"Thanks." Reigen said and climbed onto it and quickly situated himself in one of the seats. The three kids climbed on with a bit more caution, looking around curiously.

"This isn't going to be another Mogami incident, is it?"

Reigen jumped, nearly falling out of his seat, and spun around to glare at Dimple.

"Maybe give a guy some warning before sneaking up on them!" He said, though Dimple didn't seem to care.

"It isn't, right?"

Mob had spoke this time, seeming to have chosen the seat across from Reigen to sit in, leaving Teruki and Ritsu to sit at the other table in the jet.

"No, of course not. And even if it was, I wouldn't make you go through that again." Reigen assured the kid. "I'm sure whatever they want us to do can't be too bad, considering they clearly went out of their way to hire me for it instead of someone who actually lives in Italy."

"What kind of company does your uncle work for that they can afford this?" Ritsu asked, gesturing to the jet.

"He's a high ranking member of the Vongola." Reigen replied. Mob didn't show any recognition, but Ritsu blinked in surprise and Teruki looked absolutely aghast at this news. Before anything could be said on the matter, however, Ernesto and Matthias walked on.

"We'll be departing now. Please remain seated until you have been given permission to move around the cabin. There's food under the tables in front of you." Matthias said and then the two went to the cockpit.

"Did you say Vongola?" Teruki hissed as soon as the two men were gone.

"Isn't that some big investing company?" Ritsu asked.

"Yeah, to both." Reigen leaned back, putting his hands behind his head as the plane began to roll forward down the runway.

"No, it's not." Teruki corrected. "Listen, after Claw tried to kidnap me, I did some digging to try and find out if there were any other organizations I needed to look out for. Reigen, your uncle works for the biggest and most powerful mafia there is."

"What?!" Ritsu shouted, starting to get up.

"We're not supposed to get up until the captain says we can." Mob reminded Ritsu, who angrily sat back down.

"Looks like you got into a mess now. I'll bet he's not even your real uncle." Dimple smirked, hovering above Mob and Reigen's table. Reigen waved off the remarks with his hand.

"No, he's definitely my uncle. I've always known he was in a mafia. At least now I won't have to try and find a way to tell you guys during the flight." Reigen shrugged, unconcerned.

"You mean you've gotten us wrapped up in the mafia and didn't even bother to tell us?!" Ritsu fumed, looking like if it wasn't for Mob he'd be strangling Reigen right now.

"I was planning to tell you during the flight." Reigen repeated. "Relax, it's not like you're going to have to join them or anything. _I'm_ not even a part of the mafia. We're just going to go, live the good life for a few days, exorcise a spirit, and come back here."

"Wait… you said that your uncle was high ranking." Teruki said, wheels so clearly turning in his head, chin held in his hand. "Don't tell me… he wouldn't be one of the guardians, would he?"

"Yup. Ganache III, Lightning Guardian of the Timoteo, the Ninth leader of the Vongola." Reigen rattled off, his hand doing a rolling motion as he spoke. He was a bit impressed; the kid had obviously done his homework. "What else do you know about the Vongola?"

"Nothing else." Teruki said, but Reigen didn't miss how the kid's eyes had caught on to the ring Reigen hadn't taken off. Reigen didn't press him on it, though.

"Well, at any rate it's too late to get off, so you're all in this at least until we land." Reigen reached under the table and pulled out the first thing he saw. "Anybody want oreos?"

oOo

The flight was long, and if there was one good thing that came from it, it was that it gave Ritsu plenty of time to cool off. As soon as they'd settled on their cruising altitude, the kid was out of his chair and seemed moments away from killin Reigen.

There were plenty of things to eat during the trip, as well as a TV that had a large variety of shows, movies, and videogames. There was even a bed in the back that they took vague turns napping in. Even in a jet, owned and built by the Vongola and thus faster than most jets, it took hours to get from Japan to Italy. It reminded Reigen of one of the main reasons he didn't go and see his uncle more often - being in a cramped place like this was already rough, and usually he'd have to take a commercial flight which was leagues worse.

When the jet finally touched down, all four of them were ready to get out and stretch their legs. Dimple, of course, didn't really care and was just here for the ride.

There were more men in black suits when they got out of the jet, and Reigen noticed Teruki and Ritsu stiffening. Reigen looked over the men until his eyes finally caught those of a very familiar and aged face.

"Uncle Ganache!" Reigen shouted, waving for his uncle. Ganache grinned and ran over, nearly knocking the conman over in a hug.

"Look at how tall you've gotten!" Ganache pulled out of the hug and held Reigen out at arms length. "It's been far too long since either of us have visited. You know how busy my job can be - full-time, never a day off." He looked over Reigen's shoulder and his expression shifted to surprise. "I've got to say, when I said you could bring someone, I was thinking more along the lines of a girl or boyfriend. Are… _all _of them yours?"

"What?! No! Ganache, look at how old they are, I'd have to have been thirteen!" Reigen spluttered, taken aback.

"Adoption is always an option." Ganache shrugged.

"Still no." Reigen looked back at the three kids and waved them over. "Ganache, this is Mob, my disciple, his brother Ritsu, and his friend Teruki."

"Nice to meet you all." Ganache smiled at them. "Now, enough standing around. There'll be plenty of time to talk back at the mansion."


	3. Chapter 3

Teru was having a hard time deciding what to make of this whole predicament.

A part of him was screaming to get out of this car. He'd survived Claw, but that didn't mean he wanted to be surrounded by another corrupt organization. He had faith in his skills, but if it hadn't been for Reigen, Shigeo, and that weird red-headed kid, he would've been done for. When he had heard Reigen say Vongola, he had thought the same thing as Dimple, that is was some kind of trick.

But now here they are, in a car headed for Vongola Mansion, with Reigen talking animatedly with his uncle Ganache. And Teru trusted Shigeo's master.

The conversation was heavily one-sided, with Reigen recounting his ventures from the past few years, half of it being told with words and the other half with his hands. Ganache would nod and ask a few questions that usually spurred the man into another and sometimes completely unrelated story. Reigen seemed totally relaxed, and Ganache didn't really emanate a killing aura like Teru had been imaging he would throughout the plane ride. In fact, he seemed a lot like a normal uncle, making a few jokes and puns out of the things Reigen said and laughing at them. As Teru watched Reigen launch into something that had happened before he'd started Spirits and Such, his eyes caught on the ring gleaming on his right hand.

When he'd been looking into the Vongola, finding details on them had been hard after the fact that they were a very big and powerful Mafia, they'd been showing an odd interested in Japan recently, and that the current boss was an old man by the name of Timoteo. With some more digging he'd managed to find out that it was somewhat like a monarchy, and that every single leader had a group of 'guardians', always six, that stood by him. After that, the sources that Teru got - already pretty sketchy - got less and less trustworthy. Which was a shame, because the stuff alluded to was very interesting. Things about magical fires produced from no obvious source (perhaps pyrokinetics?), and rings that held significance.

Ganache's arms were folded, but Teru could still see the ring - green like Reigen's - that sat on the man's right hand. The stone was bigger than the one Reigen was wearing, a IX carved into the face, and dark silver metal wrapping around it and his finger.

At the very least, this trip would be interesting to get a feel of what they were up against if he ever had to come to blows with the Vongola.

oOo

Even after a long flight, Ritsu wasn't excited about what was going on here. He hated the idea of his brother being involved with the mafia, and wasn't too jazzed about himself being wrapped up in the matter either.

Ganache looked more like an actor than he did a mafioso, but Ritsu knew that appearances could be deceiving; Mob was his brother after all. Nobody talked much for the car ride besides Reigen, who seemed completely content to fill the silence all on his own. Ritsu spent most of the ride staring out the window of the car, watching as the cramped city gave way to smaller towns and more trees.

The car ride was blessedly shorter than the plane ride, and they soon arrived at what must've been the Vongola Mansion. They'd had to go past a large and old wrought iron gate, and then up the road for a few more minutes before stopping outside of the mansion. It was tall and imposing, structure and style speaking of its age. They exited the car, the espers and Reigen eager to get out. Despite knowing he was about to be surrounded by a bunch of murderers, Ritsu couldn't help the tiredness that wore into his bones after so much traveling.

"Arataka."

Ritsu looked in the direction of the voice. He'd been half expecting the entire mafia to be standing outside of the building, still covered in blood or something. Instead, there was only one man who looked around Reigen's age. He approached them with a small smile on his face, hands clasped behind his back. His hair was black and covering one of his eyes. He was thin and tall, eyes sharp as they looked over each of them. On his cheek was a tattoo of a lizard. Like Ganache, he was finely dressed, walking with a purposeful stride.

"Yo, Brow! Long time no see!" Reigen greeted. Brow came to a halt in front of them, eyes roaming over the group again, posture rigid.

"I must say, I was under the impression that you had come here to get rid of an evil spirit, not to add another."

Reigen stiffened, as did Ritsu.

"Huh, didn't think I was going to have to worry about being seen here." Dimple commented, but besides that seeming unworried by this change of events.

"Arataka?" Ganache said, voice losing the warmth it had held for the entire car ride. Ritsu turned to look at the mafioso. He was guarded, the emotions he'd displayed so openly before nowhere to be seen, and Ritsu barely stopped himself from reflexively putting up a barrier. As far as he was aware, these people didn't know he was an esper yet, and he'd like to keep it that way for as long as he could.

"Don't worry about it. Dimple's just an assistant of mine." Reigen said, still calm and collected.

"You wouldn't betray my trust, would you?" Ritsu watched as Ganache took a step closer to Reigen so that he was looming over the fake psychic.

"Of course I wouldn't!" Reigen flopped his hand around, dismissing the idea. "I swear, he's harmless."

Dimple looked like he wanted to say something about that but Reigen sent him a glare and the spirit had the sense to keep quiet.

The tension instantly evaporated and Brow clapped a hand on Reigen's shoulder, cold expression now considerably warmer.

"Well, then in that case it is wonderful to see you again. Now, I'm sure you - all of you," Brow quickly amended, now addressing the entire group, "Are tired from the trip, but the Ninth would love to have your company for an early lunch."

"We'd love to." Reigen immediately replied, and Ritsu crossed his arms. He didn't know about his brother or Teru, but he wanted to get settled in first, but he thought better of saying anything. Their group, including Matthias and Ernesto, headed into the mansion. "Anyway, since when have you been able to see spirits? If you're an esper, why'd you guys call me in?"

"I have been able to see them for a few years now. Croquant and Coyote can see them as well, but none of us have any powers - none of us are 'espers'." Brow said. Which seemed right, considering the man had nothing by way of an aura.

Reigen and Brow made idle chit-chat as they went through the halls, Dimple floating behind them and listening in. Teruki was looking around at the pictures hung on the walls and the expensive looking artifacts sitting in display cases. Ganache was talking to the two body guards, but it was all in another language so even if Ritsu wanted to listen in, he couldn't.

"Hey, Shige," Ritsu kept his voice down but successfully managed to get his brother's attention, "Do you really trust this whole… thing?" Ritsu gestured vaguely at every.

"It's Master's family," Shigeo said, like that made everything fine. Ritsu sighed in frustration. To Shigeo, it probably did. His brother's expressions got the most faint hints of a smile, "And Mr. Ganache seems nice."

"Yeah, he does." Ritsu admitted, glancing behind him at said man. He clenched his hand.

They were already here. All he could do now was keep him and his brother safe until they could get back to Japan.

oOo

"- but Mob was able to exorcise the spirit. Later we tried growing some tomato plants using his powers, but they tasted like crap." Reigen finished his story.

"Food grown using sun flames tends to have a similar result. Take it from somebody who has attempted it many many times." Brow's shoulders trembled ever so slightly in that quiet laugh of his. "It never turns out good. It is, however, fun to hand a perfectly good looking apple to someone and watch them bite into it."

"Brow Nie Jr, playing a prank? What happened to the kid trying to convince me not to put a snail in Visconti's favorite mug?" Reigen nudged Brow in the side.

"He grew up and actually had to spend time around Visconti and had even more reason to mess with him." Brow shrugged and then got quieter. "You're not really an esper, right?"

"Of course not." Reigen chuckled. "But that's why I brought Mob along."

"Well, any reason to get you over here is a good one, lies or not." Brow smiled. "And it gives me a chance to brush up on my Japanese."

"And me a chance to still not speak in my butchered Italian."

They reached the large doors to the smaller of the two dining halls, two housekeepers standing outside of it. They said… something in Italian, all Reigen was able to catch was Brow's name, and then opened up the doors in tandem. Four of the other guardians were sitting at the table with Nono himself at the head, and Reigen couldn't keep the grin off of his face. Brow walked to the table and sat down at the end, leaving five seats for Reigen, Ganache, and the kids. Reigen sat down next to Brow and looked over the group assembled once more.

"Was your dad too busy to join? Some special mission?" Reigen whispered as the teens figured out a seating arrangement. Brow's gaze dropped.

"Uh, no. Dad was killed a few years ago doing his job and Timoteo asked me to take over for him - no, don't apologize. It's the end we all know will come." Brow said, looking at his hands - more specifically, at the ring that adorned his right one. Reigen raised his eyebrows when he saw that, despite Brow's claim of now being the Ninth's Sun Guardian, it wasn't the ring he remembered seeing on Brow Nie Sr. Before he could ask about it, though, the kids had chosen seat and Timoteo stood up.

"Living in our line of work, we often have to focus on many things, dividing our attention between so many things, and that can lead to us losing sight of some, like family. Not famiglia, as important as we all know that is, but family. And today we have the honor of having family with us. Arataka, it's amazing to see you again." Timoteo nodded to Reigen and sat down, gesturing to Reigen to stand up, which he did.

"You all may not be my famiglia, but I've always thought of all of you as uncles - _really old _uncles," Reigen said and some of the men chuckled, "And I'm glad to see you all again. But let's face it, I'm here for the food. As you probably know, I'm here to exorcise a ghost. This is my student, Shigeo Kageyama, his brother Ritsu Kageyama, and their friend Teruki Hanazawa." Reigen introduced them and sat back down.

"Well, I'd hate to keep lunch from all of you any longer." With a wave of Timoteo's hand, waiters entered with platters of food.


	4. Chapter 4

The meals on the jet hadn't been meals so much as they had been sporadic snacks of junk food. Reigen hadn't been lying when he said he was looking forward to the food. There were sandwiches and salads, cheese platters and crackers, soups and cut up pieces of fruit.

"So, Ganache said you were running an exorcising business. How's that been going?" Timoteo asked.

"Great! Seasoning City is packed with spirits, which makes for good business. Of course, it's not always an actual spirit, but that doesn't mean I don't lend a hand where I can." Reigen said as he speared a piece of watermelon on his fork.

"Never would've pegged you for running a business that requires so much ground work." Croquant grunted.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Reigen tried to give the mist guardian a look, but it was made harder by the fact that they sat on the same side of the table with a couple people between them.

"What do you think it means, Mr. Silver Tongue?" Coyote chuckled. "Timoteo still thinks of you as the one that got away, you know."

"The one that got away?" Ritsu spoke up. "You wanted Reigen in the mafia?"

"Don't need to sound so surprised." Reigen muttered.

"Of course we would! Arataka has an astounding ability when it comes to talking with people. He could make a valuable negotiator, speaker, information gathered, infiltrator, among other things." Timoteo explained, going over the list he and the other guardians had listed for Reigen time and again. "An option always open to him."

"But Arataka's turned us down every time." Ganache sighed dramatically. "Always insisting on making something of himself. Working in a mafia, you don't usually become well known outside of the underground."

"Did you guys know master when he was a kid?" Mob asked curiously.

"Of course we did. He lived here for a couple months when he was, what, twelve? Thirteen?" Croquant said through a mouthful of bread.

"I was, fifteen… so yeah, he'd have been thirteen." Brow confirmed.

"He was a little shit." Visconti snorted and Brabanter elbowed him in the ribs.

"Kids." The rain guardian said and Visconti huffed, crossing his arms.

"Like they haven't heard a swear before. And he was." He defended himself.

"Reigen liked to mess with Visconti." Ganache explained.

"You say that like he didn't deserve it. He always knocked me around _way _too much during training." Reigen pointed out. "And a couple ants in his dresser isn't going to kill him. If it is then maybe he's not cut out to be a guardian."

"If you've got something you're trying to say-" Visconti's lips pulled back like a snarl and started to get back up.

"Sit back down, Visconti." Coyote ordered. "You know Reigen didn't mean anything by it, he just likes to get a rise out of you."

"Me?" Reigen pointed to himself in mock surprise while Brow high-fived him under the table. "Actually, enough about me, let's talk about you guys. Any reason Brow doesn't have the sun ring yet?"

"Always so observant." Timoteo smiled and held up his hand. Reigen noticed the kids, particularly Ritsu and Teruki, sitting up straighter at the turn in the conversation. While there was a beautiful ring on the old man's hand, a dark-blue gem set into the silver, it definitely wasn't the Vongola sky ring. "We've grown old, and losing Brow Nie Sr. was a clear sign of our mortality. So they're in the hands of the next generation as they prepared to take over."

Reigen blinked in surprise. He had to admit, a part of him had never imagined the mafiosos ever dying. They seemed kind of immortal, a constant presence in the background of his life. It still hadn't quite hit him that Brow's dad was dead, and that as the Ninth and his guardians got older, they would surely follow.

"But… who? I mean, Federico, Enrico, and Massimo died, right? And Xanxus was frozen for trying to _kill _you. Did you… defrost him? Was he still _alive?_" Reigen set his fork down, trying to think if he knew of some secret son Timoteo had.

All three of Timoteo's sons had been quite a deal older than Reigen, or at least old enough that they hadn't wanted to play with him. Reigen had gotten to know Xanxus pretty well, but they hadn't been nearly as close as he and Brow, and then the Cradle Incident had happened.

"Xanxus was 'defrosted', as you put it, and he did try to kill me again, and even got as far as challenging the current Vongola sky ring holder, but the ring ultimately rejected him. Now he's the leader of the Varia, so things worked out." Reigen wasn't sure what to make of that; that a man he'd assumed was essentially dead was now probably living in this building. "The tenth Vongola is a direct descent of Primo. He actually lives in Japan and is probably about the same age as some of your kids."

"Huh. Back in my day, kids were kids." Reigen said with a shake of his head. Brow made a small noise of disagreement.

"So it isn't monarchal?" Teruki asked and all eyes turned to the blonde Esper, who to his credit didn't flinch under the gazes.

"It is to a degree. But all of my sons are dead or unworthy of the mantle, so we had to find a new candidate. He's had no previous experience, but he's being trained by the hitman." Timoteo explained. It was a bad moment for Reigen to sip his tea as he nearly choked on it, coughing violently as he desperately cleared his airway.

"Y-you can't be serious?!" Reigen exclaimed. "You got _The _Reborn to teach this kid?!"

"Of course I did. He is the future of our famiglia, he should be properly prepared." Timoteo smiled.

A butler-looking man came in and leaned down, saying something to the Ninth too quietly for Reigen to hear. Timoteo nodded and said something back before sighing, pushing away from the table, and standing up.

"Well, it's been nice to catch up, and I hope we'll have another chance to before you leave, Reigen, but it would seem that a couple allies of the Vongola wish to speak with me. I shouldn't keep them waiting. When you're done eating, Ganache will lead you to your rooms." Timoteo walked out, followed by Coyote and Visconti.

oOo

Everybody else left shortly after the Ninth left, and now Ganache was talking them through more hallways. Ritsu looked over his shoulder to where Ernesto and Matthias had made a reappearance. He was already getting sick of being watched everywhere he went.

"You know, Ritsu, say what you will about me, but at least I didn't send the world's best hitman to train your brother." Reigen said as they went.

"Is he really that bad?" Shigeo asked. Both Reigen and Ganache nodded.

"Reborn's really put the kid through some Hell and back with his training, but to his credit he's also helped pull him out of some sticky situations." Ganache commented. "Ah, here we are. A wing of rooms is currently being renovated, and since some other guests are expected to be coming soon you'll have to be two to a room." Ganache gestured to two doors. "Once you've rested up, I'll show you to the place that's being haunted."

"Thanks." Reigen said and hugged his uncle again.

"Shige and I will be sharing a room." Ritsu said before any other room setups could be decided.

"Okay. See you guys in the 'morning'." Reigen said, going into one of the rooms and was followed by a very determined looking Teru. Matthias set himself right next to the door.

"C'mon." Ritsu said and led the way into their room.

It was pretty large and spacious, with one king-sized bed, a dresser, a bathroom, a closet, and a TV.

"Wow, the mafia really does do well for itself." Dimple commented, drifting in and looking around.

"Okay. This isn't so bad. We have powers, so if they try to do anything to us, we have the advantage." Ritsu said out loud, more to cement it in himself than for Dimple or Shigeo to hear.

"They seem like nice people." Shigeo said as he sat down on the bed. "I know they're mafia, so they've probably killed a lot of people, but they don't seem like bad people."

"Neither does Reigen." Ritsu pointed out, knowing it would mean very little to Shigeo.

"Do you think they're espers?" Shigeo asked, leaning back in the bed. Ritsu climbed onto it as well. It was just as plush and soft as it looked.

"No. None of them had an aura." Ritsu's brow furrowed.

"I guess it wasn't really an aura," Shigeo conceded, "It was more inside of them, and flickering."

"Flickering?" Ritsu thought back, but he hadn't seen whatever it was his brother clearly had.

"Yeah. Like fires."

oOo

"I want to know the significance of the rings."

Teru folded his arms, staring down Reigen. Or at least attempting to. The man was busy looking for something under the bed.

"The Vongola likes its secrets. I could get in trouble for telling you things." Reigen said as he pulled out a quilt. He patted it. "Good to see they still keep an extra in every room."

"So you're not going to tell me?" Teru asked, making his aura spike in an effort to seem intimidating, starting to fill the room with it.

"No, I'll tell you. Just promise not to sell the information on the black market or something - honestly for your own safety more than mine." Reigen spread the blanket on the floor and grabbed two pillows off of the bed. "I don't know the whole story about them, but they're a family heirloom - you probably figured that out though. They've been around since Giotto founded the Vongola. I guess they can tell if you aren't a true heir? Which makes no sense, considering Secondo wasn't Giotto's son, but whatever."

"But why do they matter? Why would the tenth generation be 'training' with them?" Teru pressed, knowing there had to be more to them.

In answer, Reigen lifted his hand, the back facing Teru and giving him a good view of the ring. For a moment, nothing happened, and Teru started to open his mouth to say as much to Reigen when what looked like lightning flared to life, sparking on his hand. Reigen filcked his hand and the sparks disappeared just as quickly as they had come. His hand looked no worse for the wear.

"I obviously don't have one of the Vongola rings, but the one Ganache gave me still works. They're called dying will flames, come in any color on the rainbow with a variety of qualities, and being able to wield one is a requirement of being a guardian." Reigen explained.

"Dying will flames." Teru repeated and Reigen nodded.

"Yup. I'm sure my uncle can explain it better. I'm heading to bed." Reigen yawned and layed down on the floor.

Teru stayed up a bit longer, staring at Reigen and wondering if he'd be able to use these 'flames' as well.


	5. Chapter 5

Gokudera had insisted that they all stay awake during the flight, but a couple hours in Tsuna laid down on the bed - originally just to take a short nap - and then woke up as they were nearing Italy. The other guardians who had come along ended up doing the same thing, and Gokudera had apparently given in as well, saying that he needed to be on the same sleep schedule as Tsuna.

Now it was biting them all in the butt.

They'd arrived, had a dinner with the Ninth and his guardians, been warned to stay away from the older section of the mansion, and then been more or less sent off to bed. The orientation with the mansion - the reason they were here - was supposed to start tomorrow, but tonight the Ninth and his guardians were busy, and after that they'd be sleeping. Which was unfortunate seeing as the tenth generation were still on the Japanese time schedule and thus were wide awake.

They'd been given three rooms that had to be shared between Tsuna and the four guardians who had come with him. Hibari had refused to come with them in favor of keeping watch of Namimori, Murkuro - while getting better at the concept that he was a part of a mafia - still couldn't be trusted not to try and destroy Vongola Mansion the second he saw it, and Lambo was left behind when Tsuna had noticed his mom getting sad over the prospect of having an empty home, even for a just a few days. Anyway, Gokudera and Lambo in close quarters for ten hours? The storm guardian would definitely end up strangling Lambo before they landed and Tsuna wouldn't even have been able to blame him. Chrome had gotten her own room while Ryohei and Yamamoto shared a room, leaving the last one for Gokudera and Tsuna.

Gokudera had had the sense to bring some sleeping pills and had offered some to Tsuna. Tsuna had accepted some, but hadn't taken them yet. Gokudera was snoring in the bed, but Tsuna had gone down to the kitchens to grab a cup of warm milk and see if that would be able to help.

He'd managed to find his way to the kitchen after walking down a lot of random hallways and doing a lot of backtracking. The chef had been nice and give him the warm milk along with a cookie. Tsuna had thanked them in broken Italian and then gone back to his room.

Okay, so that last part was a lie.

He hadn't been able to find his way back to his room.

Of course, being Tsunayoshi Sawada, he was too awkward to ask anybody for help and just continued walking through the halls, praying that at some point his hyper tuition would suddenly kick in or something and lead him back. It didn't.

As he was walking around, he came across a glass door leading to what looked like a garden. He figured he wasn't getting anywhere anytime soon anyway and, on a whim, went through it. The garden was fantastical looking, long vines and tall trees, vibrant flowers, and Tsuna felt the anxiety that had built up inside of him being chased away by the fragrances of the flowers and calm in the cool night air.

Then, souring the smell, was the distinct scent of cigarette smoke. Tsuna blinked, straightening up and looking around for the source.

"Hayato?" Tsuna said as he followed the trail of smoke in the air around a bend.

The man was standing underneath a trellis, tall and thin, expertly smoking his cigarette and then breathing the cloud of smoke out into the air. He turned his head to look at Tsuna, eyes sizing him up, and a small shriek came out of Tsuna's mouth. The man wasn't wearing any of uniforms he'd noticed the staff wearing, so it stood to reason that the man must be a mafioso. To be here in Vongola Mansion would mean he was very high ranking, and despite being the future Decimo himself, Tsuna felt suddenly very self-concious.

"_C-ciao, signore,_" Tsuna stuttered, wracking his head for more words. The man look another drag of his cigarette and then crushed the butt into an ashtray hidden in the trellis. "_S-scusa per interrompere."_

"_Va_," The man started to say, but paused, fist going to his chin. "Ugh, what's the word for okay again?"

Tsuna immediately perked up.

"You speak Japanese?" The man's eyes lit up and he smiled.

"Huh, I guess you do too. Yeah, I'm actually just visiting from Japan, here to help with a small matter." He said as the hand that had been holding the cigarette took off into motion like it had a mind of its own. "You look a little young to be in the mafia. Are you someone's kid?"

"My dad's the head of CEDEF." Tsuna supplied, "But, actually, I'm here for different reasons. In fact, I don't even know if my dad knows I'm here."

"CEDEF?" The man's brow furrowed before smoothing back out. "Right, the external advisors. I forgot about them. That's a long way from Japan for your dad to work."

"Yeah. It's, um… I don't like him much." Tsuna admitted, scratching the back of his neck.

"What are you doing out here at this hour?" The man asked, pulling out his cigarette pack and fingering through them but not picking out another.

"I'm, um, I'm not used to the time zone." Tsuna admitted and the man chuckled.

"Join the club. But I mean out _here._ You said there was a reason you were here, right? Got a meeting with someone?"

"Oh, um. I got lost going to my room." Tsuna felt the heat rush to his face upon admitting it. "I'm here to meet with Nono. It, uh, well. Everybody keeps insisting, uh… I'm going to take over after him?" It felt like his face was on fire and he ducked his head, not meeting the man's eyes. What a great first impression he was leaving on the man. He prayed this man wasn't the head of a famiglia that decided to end an alliance with the Vongola after seeing how pitiful Tsuna was.

"No way! You're the Vongola Decimo?!" The man shouted, cigarette pack slipping from his grasp. He then moved his hands wildly in a successful attempt to catch it before it could hit the ground.

"Uh… yes?" Tsuna tried to sink into himself.

"No way!" The man repeated, looking Tsuna up and down. "They said you were young, but seeing it is a whole other thing!"

"Yup." Tsuna squeaked out, not knowing what else to say. The man put his hand out.

"Well, it's nice to meet you. I'm Reigen Arataka - with the last name first." Tsuna meekly took his hand and shook. Reigen gave a dazzling grin. "Nephew of Ganache III."

"Ganache… oh! Grandpa's lightning guardian!" Tsuna said as the information clicked.

"'Grandpa'?" Reigen repeated, looking extremely pleased, and the Tsuna's blush returned with a vengeance.

"Y-Yes, it's just, uh, how I think of him?" He stuttered out.

"Hey, no need to be embarrassed. I've always kind of thought of him as an extra uncle." Reigen admitted. "Now, you said you were lost? I can help you get back to your room." He offered.

"R-really?" Tsuna smiled. Reigen shrugged.

"I mean, I'd have to be crazy to leave the Decimo lost in his own mansion." Reigen put his cigarette pack back into his pocket. "C'mon, I have a pretty good idea of where's you're probably staying."

They left the garden behind for the mansion halls. The lights had been shut off in the time Tsuna had been outside, but somebody had come along and apparently lit the candelabras that Tsuna had thought were just for show. It added a kind of spooky and otherworldly feel to the hallways, and Tsuna found himself staying close to Reigen as they walked.

"If it's not too weird of a question, can I see your right?" Reigen asked as they walked. Tsuna looked up at the man and twisted said ring on his hand.

"I-I don't th-think I should-, uh, Reborn said not t-to take it off." Tsuna said and then put his hand out. "B-but you can still l-look at it. On my hand."

"Hey, whatever works for you." Reigen shrugged and gently grabbed Tsuna's wrist to get a better look at the ring. Tsuna could see the man had one of his own, much smaller and simpler than Tsuna's, holding a single green gem. A lightning flame user then, like his uncle. Reigen whistled as he looked at the sky ring. "Wow, it _definitely _wasn't this elaborate when Timoteo had it. I'd heard they tended to change a bit for each generation, but you've got a _second ring_ hanging off of it."

"Y-yeah, there was, um, there was a whole thing. Ghosts and stuff, the Vindice were involved- it's all okay now!" Tsuna quickly added as Reigen stiffened at the mention of the keepers of mafia laws. "We even g-got some friends out of i-it!"

"Must've been some pretty important friends to go through that for them." Reigen commented and let go of Tsuna's hand. Silence settled between them and Tsuna played with the bottom of his shirt - and remembered that this whole time he was wearing his pajamas and no shoes.

"S-so… do y-you work for Grandpa?" Tsuna desperately tried to fill the silence.

"Nah, mafia isn't really my thing." Reigen said, flapping his hand around like he was beating down the very notion of joining the Vongola. "My student and I were called for our services. Ganache made it sound like we were supposed to deal with it tonight, but it's pretty and late. I can't image he'd be up for much longer." Reigen shrugged. "I'm sure Mob will be able to find it, with or without Ganache showing us where it is."

"'It'?" Tsuna asked.

"Apparently there's a spirit haunting some part of the mansion." Reigen said with another shrug. Tsuna was starting to wonder if there was something on the man's hand he was trying to flick off. Then what Reigen had said settled in and Tsune stopped walking.

"W-wait? L-like a r-real ghost?!" He squeaked. Reigen stopped a few paces ahead of him, something between a smirk and a smile on his face.

"Don't you worry, Decimo. Between me and my student, you don't have anything to worry about. We off a 99% guarantee!" Reigen snapped and pointing his thumb at himself.

Tsuna thought back to the fight with Daemon Spade and prayed that Reigen really did know what he was doing.


	6. Chapter 6

Ritsu woke up to the sound of something crashing.

He sat up, blinking his eyes and taking a moment to assess his surroundings. The fancy room looked just as it had before, though with the added bonus of a thin psychic layer around it that places with Shigeo tended to get. Whatever had caused the crashing clearly wasn't from their room. Next to him, Shigeo was still asleep. Ritsu must've accidently stolen the blanket at some point during the night, as Shigeo was thoroughly bundled up in a completely different one that Ritsu couldn't remember seeing when they first came in.

Ritsu considering going back to bed for a moment, but a dull thump against one of the walls in the room kept him awake. With a sigh he slipped off the bed and checked his phone. It was starting to get late - they had slept the entire day away. He wondered if they would even be here long enough for time-differences to matter. He sure hoped not.

Their suitcases were sitting by the doorway, apparently placed there while they slept, and Ritsu decided to quickly change into some clothes he hadn't slept in. There was another thump while he changed, followed by some muffled but raised voices. He looked back over at the bed to make sure that it hadn't woken up Shigeo. Hopefully whoever was in the other room wasn't in the act of murdering someone and would be reasonable. Still, if they tried to attack him, he was an esper. He could deal with them.

As luck would have it, he didn't need to knock on the door.

Ritsu left his room, closing the door softly behind him, and as he turned to go to the next room the door opened up and two kids spilled out. The taller of the two was laughing, though he looked like he'd just been knocked down by the shorter, white haired one He was wearing light blue pajamas of some kind of shiny material. The white-haired guy wasn't wearing a shirt, but he was wearing yellow pajama pants that matched the taller guys. White-hair was bouncing on the balls of his feet, hands clenched into fists in front of him.

"C'mon, remember your extreme form." White-hair said loudly, bordering on shouting. The other stood back up, rolling his shoulders and mimicking white-hair's stance, a small smile on his face.

"You probably shouldn't be fighting in the hallway. Or in your room either." Ritsu said before a punch could be thrown by either guy. They seemed to only now realize he was here, fists loosening and backs straightening up from the stances they had both had.

"Hah, guess we did get a bit carried away." The black-haired one laughed. "We couldn't sleep, and Ryohei suggested boxing might help."

"It will!" Ryohei insisted, pumping a fist into the air. "Boxing solves everything!"

"Could you please keep it down?" Ritsu said, a bit coldly, glancing back at his room. "My brother is still sleeping."

"Oh, sorry about that. We didn't know there was anybody in there." The black-haired one shrugged.

"Our extreme apologies!" Ryohei bowed, and when he came back up his hand was outstretched to Ritsu. "I am Sasagawa Ryohei. Box with us!"

"No thanks." Ritsu said, wincing a bit as the man continued to shout. He did shake the hand, though, and noticed a bracelet of some sort on his on his bicep.

"I'm Yamamoto Takeshi." The other introduced himself, also shaking Ritsu's hand. He too had a piece of jewelry, a silver and blue necklace shaped like a sword hanging around his neck. "Sorry to wake you up. Hey, do you know where a gym or something would be? That way we can box and not bother you."

"I'm just a visitor." Ritsu explained.

"Sasagawa? Yamamoto?" A door two rooms down opened and a girl walked out, rubbing her eye - just the one, the other was covered by an eyepatch. A single earring hung from her left ear, jingling slightly with her movement. Her pajamas were a purple-blue in the same style as the other two's. "I thought we were supposed to be sleeping?"

"Sorry Chrome, we were seeing if boxing would help." Takeshi apologized. Chrome sighed, clearly used to such antics, and then visibibly flinched when she saw Ritsu.

"A-ah! U-uh… _Mi dispiace molto_." She kind of mumbled the Italian, not meeting his eyes and bowing apologetically. "_I miei amici possono essere rumorosi. Saremo zitti._"

"I-it's okay!" Ritsu stepped forward, not entirely sure what to do. "I speak Japanese - I just want your friends to be a little quieter."

"Oh." Chrome said, pale cheeks filling with pink blush. "I, uh, I said sorry and that we'll be quiet now."

"Did you know this place has a bunch of robots? Maybe I should try and possess that leader guy from last night instead of focusing on Mob."

Ritsu had almost forgotten about Dimple.

The green spirit floated up the hall from behind Chrome, Takeshi, and Ryohei. Chrome straightened and whipped around. The two guys, who had been mostly relaxed, went back into defensive positions when Chrome had moved so abruptly.

"What is it?" Takeshi asked.

"I-it's, uh, it's… I can handle it." Chrome flickered her wrist and it erupted in what looked like billowing blue-purple smoke or clouds. _Or flames, _Ritsu thought, remembering what Shigeo had said yesterday. When they faded, in their place was a trident.

"Huh, I guess she can see me." Dimple commented, but didn't seem worried, which was fair. Ritsu couldn't see any aura coming off of her, and he couldn't see the 'fire' like one that Shigeo had described - though that could be because he wasn't as powerful as his brother.

The girl swung her trident up to Dimple. Predictably it went straight through him. The spirit yawned tauntingly.

"What is it?" This time the question came form Ryohei. Ritsu sighed and stepped forward, eyes trained on the girl's trident as the prongs lit up with more of the blue-purple fires.

"It's with me." Ritsu supplied. The girl spun around to look at him, eye wide.

"You trust an evil spirit?" Chrome said in disbelief, looking between Dimple and Ritsu. Both Takeshi and Ryohei stiffened at the mention of an evil spirit and Ritsu was suddenly very aware of the fact that he had put himself in the middle of their triangle, surrounded. The girl's trident was still on fire, Ryohei's hands were brought back up in front of him, and while Takeshi was still standing upright, there was a sharpness to his eyes that unsettled Ritsu.

"Hah, a spirit, huh?" Takeshi's laugh sounded almost cold. Ritsu was reminded that he was in a _mafia's _mansion. Despite how young these kids were, they were probably trained assassins.

"Oh! Y-you guys are s-still awake?"

The effect of the stuttering, timid voice was immediate. The three kids straightened to attention, but the caution steadily approaching hostility they'd been showing Ritsu was completely gone.

"B-boss!"

"Hey, Tsuna, you're awake!"

"Little brother!"

Ritsu turned around to see a kid in, yup, same pajamas, just orange. The kid was sporting a head of fluffy hair sticking up at odd angles, with big and innocent looking brown eyes. He looked a little sheepish, scratching the back of his head. Walking next to him was Reigen, one hand in his pocket while the other looked like it had stopped in the middle of one of his dramatic gestures.

"Ritsu, I see you've been making some friends." Reigen observed and Ritsu felt himself almost instinctively bristle in the presence of the fake psychic. The duo came to a stop a couple feet away from Ritsu and the group he was still surrounded by. Reigen looked down at the kid, nodding towards Ritsu. "I'm guessing your guardians?"

"Y-yeah!" The kid motioned for them to come over. Chrome looked back at Dimple, biting her lip, but stepped forward. Ritsu hung back, letting out a breath of relief when he wasn't surrounded anymore.

"Sometimes I think I'd be less of a hassle to just exorcise you." Ritsu muttered as Dimple floated down next to him.

"Seems like they probably had a bad run in with a spirit. The girls pretty cute though." Dimple waggled his eyebrows and Ritsu slapped him.

"Reigen, this is Yamamoto Takeshi, my rain guardian, Sasagawa Ryohei, my sun guardian, Chrome Dokuro, one of my mist guardians, and then in my room is my storm guardian, Gokudera Hayato." Tsuna introduced the kids to Reigen.

Ritsu's attention caught on the word 'guardian' again. He'd heard Reigen's uncle being called the 'Lightning Guardian', which seemed to be almost a too specific title.

"Well, Tsuna, this is my student's brother, Ritsu." Reigen pointed him out, bringing the attention back to him.

"H-hello, I'm Sawada Tsunayoshi." Tsuna said, pushing past the guardians so that he could put out a hand to shake with Ritsu. Somewhat cautiously, he accepted it. Despite how soft the boy looked, his hands were surprisingly calloused.

"Kageyama Ritsu."

"Just wait until your brother gets out here and you have to go through all of this again." Dimple snorted. Which attracted the girl's attention to him again. The fires had gone out on the trident at some point, but they were relit in an instant.

"Whoa, hey, settle down there." Reigen put a hand on her shoulder. The jumped and looked up at him. "I know he looks gross, but he's with us."

"B-but it's an evil spirit." Chrome looked down, and Ritsu noticed she was shaking. "They… it could p-possess someone, o-or-"

"Don't worry. We're professionals at dealing with spirits!" Reigen said, accompanied by a hand gesture and then looking upwards dramatically, the effect added to by the lighting provided by the candelabras. "Hired by the Ninth himself to deal with one, in fact. Do not worry, we know how to deal with this one. He's on our team." Reigen assured her. She didn't look completely convinced - in fact, none of the four strange kids did - but she let go of her trident and it fell apart into more of the strange fires that went out before they could hit the ground.

"I-I thought everybody was g-going to try and sleep." Tsuna broke the awkward silence.

"Haha, Ryohei and I couldn't sleep, so he decided to test my boxing to see if that would help." Takeshi repeated. "What about you?"

"I was, uh, getting some warm milk and got lost." Tsuna admitted, ducking his head in embarrassment.

"If sparing is what you guys want to do, I know the way to the gym." Reigen said..

"This place has a gym?" Ritsu said in disbelief.

"Yeah. And it still has robots." Dimple said.

"Extreme! Let's go!"


	7. Chapter 7

Teru was awoken by Reigen.

"Are you still interested in flames?" The man asked as Teru while's brain was still mostly asleep.

"Nhh." Teru moaned, trying to make sense of the words presented before him. Reigen seemed to take the response as an affirmative, patting Teru's arm.

"Come on, we're going to the gym."

He managed to pull himself out of bed and scrounged through his suitcase for some fresh clothes. He felt somewhat gross, used to showering right after waking up, but if they were going to the gym then there would be no point. It was about this time, buttoning up his jean jacket, that he finally processed the first thing that Reigen had said. Flames. Was the man going to teach Teru how to use them? Or maybe demonstrate what they could do? All of his sleepiness gave way to excitement.

Standing in the hallway was everybody else - along with five kids that Teru didn't know. While Teru's friends were dressed in pretty normal clothes, the five strangers (plus Reigen) were wearing things more suited for physical activity.

"Alright, let's go!" Reigen declared and set off down the hall, apparently their guide to the gym. A gym in a mansion. Huh.

"Where are we going?" Teru asked Shigeo, walking on one side of him while Ritsu took the other.

"Master suggested watch the tenth generation train." Mob answered, face as blank as ever.

"Wait, they're the tenth generation? As in, the future head of the Vongola?" Teru hissed, jabbing his thumb behind them. Mob nodded. Teru looked over his shoulder, getting a better look at them.

They all seemed to be about the same age as him or Mob. There were five of them - one of them being the heir and the four others being guardians? If that was so, then they were two fewer than the Ninth had - two fewer than what his research suggested the guy should have. The group took up the entire hallway in a clear formation. The soft, kind of cute-looking walked in the middle. There was a black-haired kid on one side, laughing about some quiet conversation Teru hadn't heard. Walking on the soft kid's other side was a decidedly grumpy looking silver-haired boy. He was mostly stumbling forward and yawning a lot but seemed determined to keep walking forward. On the far sides and slightly behind the trio was a girl and another guy. One of the girl's eyes were covered by an eyepatch and the gaze of her remaining eye was trained on the ground. The guy had white-hair and a bandage across his nose. He was practically vibrating, like it was taking everything in him not to just run ahead of Reigen.

"The girl tried to attack me." Dimple commented, floating between Teru's group and Reigen.

"Any sensible person attacks you." Ritsu snorted. Dimple's face twisted like he'd bitten into a lemon and Teru chuckled.

"Both Teru and I tried to exorcise you." Shigeo added, giving the smallest of smiles. Dimple stuck out his tongue.

"I didn't attack Dimple." Reigen threw over his shoulder. Ritsu pointed with his hand at Reigen triumphantly.

"Proves me my point." Ritsu said smugly.

They wove through the mansion for a while, passing by only one or two members of the staff as they went. The hour was getting late for those in Italy, but for the Japanese it felt like morning. The group descended a long spiral staircase to a set of steel doors, and Reigen tapped a quick little passcode into the panel beside it. They doors opened up to reveal a large room. It was dark for a moment, but the overhead lights came on as they entered, Teru looked around. There was some usual training equipment near the front, stuff that would've fit in with Shigeo's Body Improvement club. A track traced the edges of the room in a loop. Part of one wall had been changed into a climbing wall. The top of the gym, below the lights, were bars and such, like the world's most dangerous jungle gym.

"There's probably a whole set of bells and whistles to it, but I'm not going to mess with them." Reigen batted the air with his hand. "Mob, Ritsu, Teruki, I need to talk to you guys for second."

Reigen went back outside of the gym and all three of them followed. The door was closed behind them and the stood in the rather cramped space at the end of the stairwell. Reigen stood on the steps, adding some extra height to him.

"What?" Ritsu said, voice tight. Reigen folded his arms, sighing.

"No one here knows your espers." He started. "And I'm not going to make you tell them or anything. The only one they might even suspect is Mob, but there's no proof of that. But, in all honesty, they won't force you to join. They already have espers at their beck and call. So it's all up to you if you want to reveal yourselves or not."

"How can you promise that?" Teru spoke up. "I trust you, but you're not the Ninth. You can't control what he does - what any of the men here do."

Reigen's mouth twisted like it was search for the words he was trying to say.

"I guess you'll just have to trust me. The Vongola have… weird morals." Reigen shrugged. "Believe me, don't believe me, but just know it's not like I announced around that you're all espers. That's all I wanted to say. Now let's get back out there and enjoy the show."

They all shuffled back into the gym. The other kids hadn't done much in the time they were gone. The white-haired one was wrapping his hands slowly while talking the tallest one through it. The silver-haired guy seemed to be struggling to stay upright, and the girl and the soft-boy were supporting him.

"Hey, what's their names?" Teru whispered to Shigeo and Ritsu quickly. Ritsu pointed them out - Tsuna, Hayato, Takeshi, Chrome, Ryohei - as well as their titles - Tenth, Storm guardian, Rain guardian, Mist guardian, and Sun guardian. Teru soaks in the information, noting the lack of the 'lightning guardian', a position he knew for sure the Ninth had.

"Hey, I was wondering if you guys could do a little demonstration!"

For a moment Teru stiffened at Reigen's words (hadn't he just promised not to make them do anything?) but then realized the words were directed to the Vongola. They all looked at Reigen, curiosity in their eyes.

"Ah, we, uh, we weren't expecting, uh, or planning to use our f-flames in training today." Tsuna stuttered out.

"I'm not talking about some amazing theatrics." Reigen clarified with a flare of his hand, settling with the ring facing towards the Vongola. "My student are his friends aren't familiar with flames." To accentuate his point, the crackling green fire lit up on his hand once more. Dying will flames, Teru reviewed in his head. Both Ritsu and Shigeo eyed it curiously, Ritsu's normal irritation at Reigen momentarily replaced by wonder.

"Oh! Y-yeah, we can do that." Tsuna perked right up and then retreated back down. "But, uh, we're not really, um, experts."

"Hey, neither am I. I just want them to get a feel of what they're dealing with here. I'm hoping it'll help them be less jumpy." Reigen shrugged, the fire on his right going out.

"Chrome used something like that." Ritsu said. "But it looked way different."

"They're mist flames." The timid girl said, turning her head away from them in what Teru originally thought was shyness. The earring she was wearing then lit up with soft indigo flames. Reigen had said they could come in different colors, but the shape of it was completely different as well. Mist flames. Mist guardian. Ah.

"An earring?" Reigen asked, peering closely at it.

"The rings kind of, uh, changed. It's a l-long story." Tsuna kind-of-but-not-really explained.

"You want to see some really extreme flames?!" Ryohei stepped forward, putting one of his biceps out towards them. A bangle fit snuggly around it, and with a scream of 'EXTREME' it lit up with pale yellow sparkling flames. "Sun flames by far are the most _extreme!"_

Teru winced at the loud and brutishness of the boy, reminded of some of the people he used to consort with. He glanced over at Shigeo, and found the esper was positively glowing at the energy the Sun guardian was exhibiting.

"Ooh, my turn!" Takeshi pulled his necklace away from his chest, though the chain still sat around his neck. Light blue flames danced across the necklace's surface, moving more like water when telekinetically held than actual fire. "These are rain flames. A pretty neat trick, huh?"

"Flames aren't a trick." Hayato, who was still swaying on his feet, clearly fight with himself to remain alert, growled. He glared at Takeshi and clenched his hands into fists. His belt-buckle burst into chaotic and ramaging red flames. "You flames show your devotion to the Tenth! And my storm flames make it clear that I am willing to die for him!"

"Hah." Tsuna breathed, looking like he found the words all too familiar, but nonetheless uncomfortable to hear. "I should, uh, show mine, huh?" Tsuna held up his hand, where an elaborate ring sat on his finger. He closed his eyes and an orange fire - looking just like any other fire - flickered onto it. When he opened his eyes, it went back out. "They're, uh, they're sky flames."

"Is it a form of pyrokinesis?" Ritsu mused, chin held in his fist.

"No, they're dying will flames." Hayato growled again. His belt was still on fire and he seemed to be more awake. He glowered at all of them. "It's in the name. They are a manifestation your soul when you are willing to die for something."

"Hayato, don't b-be mean!" Tsuna reprimanded. Hayato huffed and cross his arms, his storm flames finally going out accompanied by another yawn.

"Time to box!" Ryohei shouted and raised both of his fists into the air. Takeshi mimicked the action with a laugh.

"Oh, right!" Tsuna jumped, looking around. "T-training. Um… maybe I'll d-do laps? Usually Reborn t-tells me what to d-do."

"So it's true then. Reborn really does train you." Reigen said. Tsuna nodded.

"It's… um… an e-experience."

Teru didn't like how that sounded. He frowned.

"Well, running is always good." Reigen suggested.

Ritsu and Teru stood back while Tsuna and Reigen ran laps, both noticeably panting around the halfway mark. Shigeo was just a little ways away, weight-lifting some five-pound dumbbells. Chrome had joined Ryohei and Takeshi in learning how to box, paying attention as the man went over the stances.

"So they have these… flames." Ritsu said, eyes trained on Reigen and Tsuna as they hit about the three-quarter mark. "But what do they do? What do they mean?"

"At the rate Reigen is spilling mafia secrets, we'll probably know by the end of the night." Teru shrugged. "If you were to ask me, though, they clearly have different names for a reason. Maybe the abilities of the users change depending on the flame? We haven't seen them in action yet. If they'll 'train' with them, there must be some offensive or defensive capabilities of the flames. Having abilities no other mafia possess must make it easy to stay number one."

"But clearly other people can have flames. Reigen's not a part of the mafia - or so he keeps saying - and Tsuna's guardians all came from Japan with him." Ritsu pointed out. "So what's stopping other mafia, or even civilians or military, from using these besides the fact that it's a secret?"

"There's something about the rings." Teru's eyes darted from Chrome's earrings, to Takeshi's necklace, to Ryohei's bangle. "I'm going to figure this out."


	8. Chapter 8

Reigen bent over, gasping. Tsuna was next to him in a similar state.

"Don't cowards run away a lot? Shouldn't you be better at this?" Ritsu snarked from above him.

"Hah, I guess you w-would think I'd be better at t-this by now." Tsuna straightened up, still panting.

"Is he okay?" Reigen nodded over at Hayato. The guardian had insisted on keeping an eye on Ritsu and Teru when Reigen and Tsuna started their laps - the glaring teen seemed to think they were a threat or something - but by the time they got done with one lap he was already asleep on some exercise equipment.

"Uh, h-he took some s-sleeping pills." Tsuna said. A loud snore came from Hayato, as if even asleep he was set on backing up Tsuna's points.

"He's still alive." Teruki confirmed. He and Ritsu were sitting on some other equipment. What they were doing, Reigen didn't know, but everything was still in one piece and nobody was being tortured so he counted it as a win.

"Well, I think we've put off exorcising the spirit long enough. Mob, are you ready to go?" Reigen looked over at his student. Mob's arms were dangling at his side like dead weight. When he did manage to move them, it was to lift the pitcher of water that Reigen was pretty sure wasn't here when they first entered and take big gulps of it.

"Sure." Mob agreed.

"You're really going to exorcise it?" Tsuna asked, seeming to have recovered his breath enough not to be gasping in the middle of his sentences, though his breathing was still a bit labored.

"It's what we're here for." Reigen grinned and Mob nodded.

"Could, uh, I come and watch?" Tsuna scuffed his foot on the ground. Reigen did answer right away, trying to keep himself from immediately saying 'no'. This kid, despite appreances, was the Decimo. Could he say no if he wanted to? And what if Tsuna put together that Reigen wasn't a psychic. He didn't know what the mafia would turn the boy into once he was manning the ship - he'd seen what the power of the position could do to people, especially when they were young. And, of course, he had a promise to keep.

Reigen looked at Mob, trying to convey through microexpressions alone, the question of whether Mob would be okay with it or not. Of course, Mob being Mob just blinked at him, having a hard time reading normal facial expressions, and the small message on Reigen's face been essentially impossible for Mob to understand. Reigen gave a sigh that was just a huff of hair through his nose.

"Mob, are you okay with that? I know you like to see me work alone." Reigen said, hand moving as if he could fish Mob's answer out of thin air. Tsuna's head cocked to the side like a puppy, a small crease between his eyebrows. Mob's face shifted as the realization of why Reigen was asking - they did their work in front of clients all the time, after all - hit him, and then he nodded.

"I'd be okay with that." Mob confirmed. Reigen chewed a bit on his lip, considering turning Tsuna down anyway, a half-formulated bullshit excuse already under production, before deciding against it.

"Well, let's get going then!" Reigen declared with a flourish.

"I'm coming too." Ritsu said, subtly wedging himself to stand between Reigen and Mob.

"I'll stay behind." Teru looked over at the boxing trio. "Maybe I can convince Ryohei to teach me boxing as well."

"DID YOU SAY YOU WANT TO BOX?!" Ryohei immediately shouted, and Reigen could swear he could see the kid's eyes flashing despite the distance. The sound make Hayato wake up for a sparse few seconds before he fell asleep again, the drugs still clearly running through his system.

The trek back up the stairs was way worse than going down and really put into perspective just how deep underground the gym was. Needless to say, he, Tsuna, and Mob had died a bit going up those stairs. Ritsu, on the other hand, looked fine. When they caught their breath, Reigen turned to Mob.

Reigen knew the way to the older part of the mansion and set off, the three teens clustered around him.

"E-even with all of Reborn's training, I'm still so slow." Tsuna sighed. Reigen shrugged.

"Your progress may be slow, but it's still progress and you should be proud of it." Mob said sagely. "That's what Musashi says."

"He's right." Reigen agreed. "My uncle used to say similar things to me when I was training."

"Training for what?" Mob asked curiously. Reigen pursed his lips, not looking the kids in the eyes.

"Well, Ganache mentioned they're tried to get me to join the Vongola before. There was one offer that I considered for a while." He admitted, involuntarily tensing at the memory.

"You mean _you _were almost actually a part of the mafia?" Ritsu's voice was full of disbelief. Reigen scratched the back of his neck.

"An… ex-friend of mine offered it, and at the time it seemed like a good idea." Reigen shrugged again. Then his hand leapt into the air, waving about as if attempting to draw all the attention to itself and away from Reigen. "That's all in the past now though. The job was filled, I stopped training, and now I run a very successful exorcism business. Everything turned out _fine._" Ritsu raised his eyebrow but didn't say anything.

Some yellow tape blocked their path, a piece of paper with the word principale _hanging _from it. Reigen ducked right under it, taking it as a good sign, and kept going. The farther they went, the more Reigen noticed random little dots on the walls, all dark red in color, like somebody had been flicking around paint or something. It all came to a head as they stood before the wall next to the door that had once led to Primo's office.

_For Every Soul Vongola Has Silenced_

_A Drop Of Blood Spilled_

_Until You Have Been Bled Dry._

"That wasn't here before." Reigen observed. Tsuna tensed upon seeing it, but both Mob and Ritsu were cool as cucumbers. "Mob, can you sense the spirit."

"Yes. It's in that room." He pointed to Primo's office. Reigen sighed.

"I hope we don't end up breaking anything. Watch your steps kids, you're on the closest Vongola has to sacred ground."

The office, in all honesty, wasn't anything particularly amazing. It was a really nice looking office, but other than that it didn't look like much of note. The back wall was mostly a huge window - a clear reason why the room was no longer used - that looked out on the woods behind the mansion. There were bookcases on either side of the room with old books just barely starting to gather a thin layer of dust. A few cabinets sat against the door's wall, locks ensuring whatever was inside wasn't easily attainable. The chair was high-backed and plush, almost more like a throne, and the desk was made of some kind of deep and dark wood. There were no bloodstains, no ghost of Primo - thank _god - _no obvious weapons, nothing that pointed towards this belonging to the man who led a powerful mafia.

"A-Ah!" Tsuna cried out, voice quavering at the end of the exclamation. He was looking at his hand, a small bead of blood resting on his pointer finger.

"What happened?" Reigen took the finger and looked it over. The skin was barely broken, just enough damage done to bleed a bit.

"I t-touched the cabinet and I guess a s-sliver was sticking up." Tsuna stuck the finger into his mouth. Reigen's eyes narrowed and ran his own hand along the top of the old wooden cabinet. He hit nothing.

Mob was looking over the room and Ritsu elbowed him in the side, nodding over to Tsuna.

"Hold still." Mob instructed. Tsuna froze, shaking slightly, as Mob grabbed the air right before his back and jerked his hand away as if pulling something free. Tsuna turned around just in time to watch as the area around Mob's hand lit up in colorful sparks.

"W-what-" Tsuna squeaked, eyes fixed upon Mob's hand even though the light show was over.

"You had a curse on you. I pulled it off and destroyed it." Mob gave a small smile. Tsuna squeaked again, hand pawing at his back.

"DO NOT INTERFERE!"

The dust on top of Primo's desk swirled like a dust devil, energy filling into the space inside and forming a translucent man. His hair was pulled back into a ponytail that clumped together, dark and wet with blood dripping from it. His eyes were nothing but pits of darkness that glared at them, face twisted into a vicious sneer. There was a distinct cut across his neck and burbled and splurt out blood as if the wound was still fresh, as if he still had a heart circulating blood. The specter was dressed in an old-time dark brown suit that, if Reigen were to give a guess, was supposed to look like dried blood.

Over all, a nice and cohesive theme going on.

Tsuna shrieked, retreating backwards until he hit the door. From the sounds of frantic rattling of the doorknob, it was also locked and refusing to open.

"Don't interfere with what?" Reigen raised an eyebrow and folded his arms, regarding the ghost with the least bit of amusement.

"My revenge!" The ghost predictably yelled, a finger pointing to Tsuna who gave a sound like a kicked puppy, the rattling of the door knob growing more intense.

"Do you know this guy?" Reigen asked Tsuna, who shook his head with such intensity Reigen wouldn't be surprised if it gave the kid a concussion.

"I will have my revenge on all of the Vongola blood! I am Luca Alfonsi, once a humble man. I came to this estate to please with the Secondo to spare my lands of the blood being spilled from a war between the Vongola and another famiglia. He killed without another thought, and my farmlands became soaked with human blood. Now I will soak with this mansion in the blood of the Vongola!" The dust still swirling around Luca darkened, become a tornado of blood.

"Mob?" Reigen cued, and Mob raised his hand.

Luca screamed as he twisted apart, exploding into bright lights just like the curse had only moments ago. The blood tornado vanished just as quickly as it had appeared. In a few heartbeats, there was no sign that Luca had ever haunted this room.

"Whoa." Tsuna breathed. "You just… whoa."

"He was a very weak spirit." Mob said, seeming completely unfazed.


	9. Chapter 9

Tsuna stared at Mob, eyes wide.

The kid had destroyed the spirit so effortlessly, without so much as blinking.

Could he have done that to Daemon Spade? Just put out his hand and destroyed the ghost? If the Ninth knew people who had powers like this existed, why hadn't he ever told Tsuna about them?

"Well, as long as we're over here, want to take a look around?" Reigen asked.

"Poking around a mafia base?" Ritsu raised an eyebrow.

"You're with me, I'll make sure you don't see anything that could get you killed." Reigen reassured.

"W-wait! That- what- can you just do that whenever?" Tsuna asked. He had been around some pretty strange sights in the past few years. Still, this wasn't flames, wasn't illusions. It was something new and weird. Mob blinked, seeming a bit taken aback by Tsuna's interest.

"Yeah, since I was a little kid." He replied. "It's not anything special."

"What do you mean it's not special? That- we could've-," Tsuna gripped his hair, still stuck on how useful that could've been against Daemon Spade.

"It doesn't make me popular, or smarter, or get me noticed by girls, or good at sports." Mob listed off.

Oh.

Tsuna could understand that.

Despite being the heir to this mafia, despite all the lessons with reborn, the abilities and techniques he'd been practicing, his school life had barely changed. Even after everything he went to, so little of his school life was affected by it. Sure he now had some friends, but the opinion the rest of the school had of him persisted.

"Anyway, let's get to the tour, we don't? Please, don't touch anything, these people can and might kill you if you break something." Reigen butt in, gesturing the room they were still in. "Welcome to Primo's office."

"P-Primo's office?!" Tsuna shrieked, taking another look around. There wasn't really anything that stuck out about this being any more special about any other office. It was very nice, sure, but everything Tsuna had seen in this mansion was really fancy. The blood from the ghost was vanished with it, thankfully. Tsuna didn't know what he would do if he was responsible for messing up Primo's room.

"I think it was also Secondo's too, but who really cares about that guy?" Reigen said. "I mean, besides the ghost that Mob exorcised. Let me see something…" The man walked over to a bookshelf, eyes going over the books, a slight frown on his face as he would start to reach for one and then pull back with a small shake of his head.

Tsuna made his way farther into the room, curiosity managing to break through the anxiety of so much as looking at something wrong. Ritsu and Mob trailed behind him a bit as they all looked around the room, trying to see if there was anything really special about it. There was the Vongola seal carved into or painted on many of the things.

"A big window for a mafia boss." Ritsu commented.

"He must've trusted his security." Mob said, putting a hand on the glass and looking out at the forest that lay at the edge of the mansion grounds.

"Or sure in his own abilities." Tsuna added, almost without meaning to.

"Fast enough to dodge a bullet?" Ritsu raised an eyebrow and then shrugged. "I doubt it, but it's not like I've met him."

Tsuna bit down on mentioning the Hyper Intuition that he'd inherited from his relation to Primo. If one let themself listen to it, then it was possible. And there were even 'normal' people who could dodge fast enough. That man that kept popping up during the Arcobaleno Trials, for instance, didn't even seem to be using flames when slipping around Bermuda's punches. But these kids weren't in the mafia, weren't a part of his family. And they shouldn't be, it was probably safer for them to not be affiliated with the Vongola any more than this trip already made them. Still, there was something about the two of them that Tsuna liked. Maybe it was just something that had come about after having run around a gym and being utterly terrible at it with Mob. Maybe, even if they weren't here long, they could become friends.

"Here it is!" Reigen pulled out a leather notebook from the shelf. Said leather looked old and soft, and when Reigen set it down on the desk a small cloud of dust poofed up off of it. There was a picture of a clam on the front. Reigen carefully undid the the tie that kept it shut and gentle flipped the book open. Yellow pages greeted them, cursive Italian words that Tsuna' couldn't read flipped by as Reigen searched for something.

They gathered around and Reigen finally stopped on a page. It was full of doodles with different version of the Vongola seal. Little illegible notes were scrawled next to each, arrows occasionally pointing out specific design choices. There were other little notes that different in size, font, and style. Different people, perhaps, giving their own input. Reigen didn't spend long on these pages, however, flipping just a bit further.

Oh. That looked like Gokudera.

But the sketch on the page had more wrinkles on his brow and around his eyes, the hair longer. It was a side profile, looking out to something that they would never know. Below it was another sketch, this one a bit more messy than the last, of an asian man, captured mid-laugh, eyes closed, mouth open. It was an expression Tsuna knew so well. If he didn't look closely - because there were deep laugh lines that Takeshi didn't yet have, and a messy line on the cheek that may be a scar - he wouldn't thought this was his friend.

"Did he… draw these?" Tsuna asked in awe. Reigen nodded.

"Always one of my favorite things. Really makes me wonder what kind of man Primo was." Reigen said, pushing the book a bit closer to the kids.

"Is it okay if we touch this?" Mob asked, hand hovering over one of the corner to flip it to the next page. Reigen shrugged.

"They've made digital copies of it and stuff. Just don't rip the pages."

There were more doodles - more of the guardians, and of bookshelves and trees and people that Tsuna didn't know. Some were sketchier than other, or smeared, or random scribbled lines tearing through them as if Primo was unsatisfied with what was coming to be. It was fascinating, in a bit of an odd way. A little of what mattered to Primo. Surely the pages in the notebook, the words it held, told more about Giotto, but a picture was worth a thousand words.

Eventually the doodled pages ran back into journal entries or whatever was written there and Reigen closed the notebook again, securing the string and putting it back on the bookshelf.

"Well, there's more to see. Let's get this tour moving."

They went into a few more rooms, all fancy and stuff. An old meeting room, Primo's old bedroom - "See how the wall is a different color than the rest? It got destroyed during an attack on the mansion." - but most of them they just kind of breezed over - "I'm sure something happened in this room, but it must've been boring because all I can remember is the word 'fish'." - until they reached a large and open room. Maybe it was once another meeting room or something, but it definitely wasn't one now.

There was a small coffee table in the middle, two couches on opposite sides of it, but almost looked like they'd been put there because the decorator had no idea what else to put there. Along the walls of the room were portraits - _lots _of painted portraits. Tsuna immediately recognized the portraits of the Ninth and his guardians, as well as the portraits of the Primo and his guardians. The rest of them Tsuna only had a vague recollection of from him very brief meeting with them when he unlocked his hard sky flames. Beneath each generation was a display case. Tsuna walked over to Primo's and recognized the rings that he and his friends and once worn.

"This is just straight up a museum of the Vongola leaders and their rings." Reigen said, though that much was obvious now.

"I thought the ring was passed down." Ritsu was looking at the Third's ring set. Mob was looking at the portrait of Primo.

"It's a magic ring. It changes how it looks." Reigen said nonchallantly. Ritsu made a frustrated sound about that but didn't argue about it. Tsuna fidgeted with his ring . He was standing right of Nono's portrait. The wall was bare, but there was a display case. It was empty, but his eyes traced over the spots where the rings of all the others had been - where Takeshi's necklace would fit, wondering how they'd get the lighting helmet under here.

This place… would he have to call it home? What life did he have outside of the mafia?

"Hm, didn't expect to see you here again."

Tsuna jumped at the voice and spun around. Mammon was floating in the doorway. He hadn't even thought about the Varia. Did they live in the mansion too? Nearby? Would he have to risk running into Xanxus if he accepted his fate of being a mafia boss?!

"Hey Viper."

Reigen sighed, and Tsuna realized that Mammon wasn't looking at him, but at Reigen, sizing him up.

"I thought you didn't want to be a part of 'that fucking hoard of murderers'." Mammon said. It was hard to tell what they thought about it.

"Master, who is this?" Mob asked, walking up next to Reigen, Ritsu hanging back just behind Mob. Tsuna walked over too.

"_What _is it?" Ritsu added. Oh yeah. Most people weren't used to seeing floating mafia babies.

"This is Viper. We used to… hang out." Reigen folded his arms. "You look taller."

"I _am._" Okay, there was some pride there that Tsuna could hear. "Carrying some power with you these days?"

"We're only here for a day or two." Reigen stepped forward, a bit more in front of Mob.

"I'd be a shame if your little visit was ruined." Mammon said, a clear threat. Reigen rolled his eyes and sighed, pulling out his wallet and taking out some money.

"Here." Mammon took it and put the money… somewhere in his cloak, though Tsuna wasn't sure where.

"Pleasure doing business with you. Oh, and be careful. There's an evil spirit wandering about that I've been trying to catch."

And just as quickly as the baby had come, he left.

"We should really keep Dimple on a leash or something."


End file.
